Simulation video games are a category of video games generally designed to simulate aspects of a real or fictional reality as closely as possible. A “life simulation” is a sub category of simulation video games in which a player can control one or more virtual life forms (e.g., a simulated human character, an animal, etc.). The SIMS 3, published by Electronic Arts Inc., is an example of a life simulation video game. In The SIMS 3, a player can create a character for a life simulation and configure its appearance by changing its body type, physical attributes, clothing, or accessories. A player may select from a predefined list of “parts” or “graphical assets” such as hair, hats, pants, shirts, boots, shoes, etc. The player can then assign one or more graphical assets to physical locations on the simulated character. Where the graphical assets overlap on the simulated character, graphical conflicts may be created, requiring a decision to be made (either by the user when selecting the graphical assets or by the simulation) regarding which asset to display on the character at the point of overlap. In The SIMS 3, graphical assets are designed to avoid graphical conflicts entirely by strongly limiting asset pairing combinations. For example, all boot assets are designed with a fixed height (so that all boots pair with all pants at a specific physical location on the simulated character) and type (so that all boots will always cover all pants). Additionally, hat assets may not be combined with different types of hair assets. All hat assets are designed with an incorporated hair asset to avoid resolving graphical conflicts between pairing a hat asset that appears tightly fitting (e.g., a baseball cap) to a hair asset that appears comparatively voluminous (e.g., curly hair or an “afro” hairstyle). Further, more unusual types of graphical assets that span multiple physical locations of the simulated character require a complete asset replacement, such as a full-body outfit.